


One Step Closer to Saving the World

by thescienceofheck



Category: Quantico (TV), The 100 (TV)
Genre: Clexa, Multi, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-19 09:01:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11310120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thescienceofheck/pseuds/thescienceofheck
Summary: An AU in which several major characters from the 100 join the world of Quantico.





	1. An Unlikely Team

As Lexa walked down a hall of the Pentagon, accompanying the director of the FBI to a meeting designated “need to know”, she couldn’t help but feel as if she had finally arrived. Years of hard work and a drive to save the world had brought her to this point in her life; the point in which she finally got the chance to be included in something big.  
They approached a large steel door that looked as if it belonged to a high security prison. A man stood guard outside the door, his face blank. “Director Shaw, Special Agent Woods,” he nodded, maintaining his cool.

  
Director Shaw reached her hand out and placed it on the scanner. A green light blinked and Lexa followed suit. With a click, the large metal door swung open to reveal a mahogany table surrounded with high-backed leather chairs, only two of which were occupied. At the head of the table stood President Francisco Valdez, “Miranda, glad you could make it.”

Director Shaw stiffened at the informal greeting. “I brought SA Woods, as requested. Now, I know we three are busy people so why don’t we get to why we were called out here.”

President Valdez motioned for them to sit. While everyone sat, Lexa remained standing just behind Director Shaw’s chair. Other than the President’s Secret Service, only one other person stood, Clarke Griffin. Lexa bristled when she noticed her, standing behind the seat of the director of the CIA.

Clarke had been a trainee in Lexa’s class at Quantico. Ultimately, she was recruited by the CIA and left before their class graduated. It was a sore spot for Lexa, considering they were always competing with one another for the top ranking.

“Our world is rife with turmoil. As we have seen, high tensions are posing one of the greatest threats in recent history,” President Valdez paused, looking at each person situated around the table, his brown eyes piercing. “All of us, either at the forefront of the battle or behind the scenes, have had a taste of this growing conflict. The CIA has heard chatter speaking of an attack on American soil. Our best analysts show that this threat is imminent. At the advice of Director Martin, I am appointing a taskforce to help stop this group in its track.”

The CIA director gave a wry smile at the mention of his name. With a nod of approval from the President as he sat down, he began to speak, “The nature of this taskforce is classified at the highest level. Operative Griffin has clearance, and if you approve of this, Director Shaw, we will have to up your agent’s clearance as well.”

Director Shaw pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. “I mean no disrespect Mr. President, but what exactly is the plan?”

“A joint taskforce lead by Operative Griffin and SA Woods. This will have to be carried out on American soil, so we need people to believe this is an FBI mission. CIA involvement will have to be kept quiet.”

“A task force of only two people?” Director Shaw looked between the two men seated across the table from her, “Tell me there is more.”

While they debated and argued amongst each other, Lexa couldn’t stop herself from glancing at Clarke. Lead a taskforce? Work together? Ha! Cooperation between the two was the funniest thought to cross her mind in a long time. She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of her name.

“Lexa!” Director Shaw was looking up at her. “Are you a listening?”

Clearing her throat she looked at her feet, “Yes ma’am.”

“So you can assemble a team you think can be trusted?”

Director Martin interjected before Lexa can respond, “A team of two is smaller and easier to hide! How do you expect to get a whole team to go unnoticed?”

Director Shaw stood and smoothed her skirt. “We hide in plain sight. No one is going to question an FBI investigation sanctioned by me. SA Woods is an excellent team leader, with her own trusted network. We can explain Griffin’s presence as an analyst based in the New York office to explain why no one has met her. Problem solved.”

To Director Martin’s disappointment, the President agreed with Director Shaw. As procedure, the President and his secret service agents left the room first. “Will I be accompanying you to the Hoover building?” Clarke addressed her question to Director Shaw, pointedly ignoring Lexa.

“No, I’m going to discuss logistics with Martin at Langley. You’ll go with Lexa so you can begin to vet a team. She knows these people, trust her instincts.”

Clarke gave a sharp nod and closed her eyes to regain control of her emotion. “Are you saying that I report to Agent Woods?”

Lexa bristled and muttered, “Special Agent Woods,” under her breath.

“Exactly, Miranda!” Director Martin exclaimed, rising to his feet. “You commandeered my project, ensuring an FBI agent, one completely unfamiliar with the situation, calls all the shots and you get all the glory!”

Miranda took a series of quiet steps towards the shorter, angry man and stopping with her face inches from his. “And you know who will take the fall if this op goes bad? The FBI. My agent,” her voice held thinly veiled anger. “If anyone knew you or your operative were involved in all of this it would be political suicide for the President. So,” she paused and collected herself, “quiet down the testosterone-fueled rage that has been bubbling up inside of you since I began speaking and focus on the task at hand. It doesn’t matter what glory belongs to who when American lives are at stake.”

With a sly wink at Lexa, she turned and exited the room, Director Martin at her heels.

Clarke, brushing past Lexa without a word, headed towards the door. She paused and angled her head back towards the other woman, not quite making eye contact, “Well, I can’t get into the Hoover building without you and Director Martin was my ride, so let’s go.”


	2. One of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa head to the Hoover building to assemble a team. Tensions are running high, but it's beginning to look like they will be able to work together.

The squat, inconspicuous building that housed the FBI was a familiar place to Lexa. After four years as a part of the New York field office, she transferred to D.C. to work for Director Shaw in the Hoover building. While she had grown the most as an agent in the New York office, the bureaucracy of the working in D.C. allowed her to navigate the cut throat world of politicians. 

Clarke noticed that as soon as they entered the building, Lexa seemed at ease. Even through their training together, the only time Lexa had seemed comfortable was challenging herself both physically and mentally. It had been exhausting to keep up with her, always gunning to be the best. Lexa didn’t have the same pressures that had been on Clarke, to keep with her brilliant doctor mom and engineer father. Lexa’s drive all came from somewhere inside of her, pushing her to be the best, while Clarke’s was external, slowly crushing her into the mold she had been expected to fit.

“Miranda will be sending over a badge with the appropriate clearance level so that you can have access to everything we’ll need. Remember, you’re an analyst from the New York field office,” Lexa walked quickly, keeping ahead of Clarke. She stopped in front of an office with a placard that read “Special Agent Lexa Woods”. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, holding it open for Clarke to enter. “Stay here while I pull the files of the people I trust to work with us, and we can make the decisions together.”

Clarke stood in the middle of the brightly lit, sparsely decorated office. “Lexa, you don’t even know the situation yet. You should let me brief you first, so you know what skill sets we might need. It shouldn’t be you just blindly picking your friends to help us out.”

Lexa squinted at Clarke, taking in her serious blue eyes and the scowl that seemed to be a permanent fixture. “The people I plan on pulling are the most qualified in the bureau. Miranda sent me all the files you have on a secure server. Worry about passing for a decent analyst, let me worry about being the leader.”

Shocked, Clarke watched as Lexa swung on her heel and left, slamming the door behind her. She plopped into the chair behind Lexa’s desk with a little more force than necessary, almost hoping she broke something. The surface of the desk held few hints into the life of the agent who worked there. An ancient corded phone sat on the left corner of the desk, red light blinking. In the center was a closed MacBook with a few faded stickers that looked as if they had been there for years. The only personal effects on the desk were a little potted cactus and a picture of Lexa, smiling wide, with her arm a beautiful girl with dark skin, large brown eyes, and full lips. She looked like a model, and Clarke couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of jealousy.

She was startled when the door opened to reveal the face of the woman from the picture. “You’re not SA Woods,” She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms over her torso. “What are you doing in here?”

“Hey, I’m Agent Griffin. I’m an analyst from the New York office. Lexa and I worked together her last year there,” Clarke extended her hand in an introduction.

She looked down at her hand but made no move to complete the greeting. “And why are you in her office? She’s never mentioned you.”

Clarke sensed the woman’s hesitance and reacted accordingly, “Lexa asked me to help her head a task force under Miranda’s orders.” The use of Director Shaw’s first name had the desired effect. 

“Alex!” Lexa exclaimed. “What are you doing in here?” 

“Were you every going to tell me about this op Miranda has you working on?” The accusation in Alex’s tone was sharp. 

Lexa tugged on the girl’s wrist and pulled her out of the office. “Hey,” she whispered, “of course I was going to! I’ll fill you in later, but right now you need to trust me. You’re going to be on the inside soon.”

Alex sighed a quick puff of air, releasing the pent-up frustration that always came with the prospect of being left out of a fight. “Okay, but you’d better tell me tonight. I have to go update Shelby on our case, I’ll see you at home.” With a soft smile, tinged with concern, Alex left to go find her partner.

Returning from the hallway, Lexa plopped a large stack of files on her desk and shooed Clarke out of her chair. 

Clarke sat opposite her new partner and reached for the stack. “Alexandra Parrish?” She questioned flipping the file open. Seeing the picture, she smiled wide, “So you want to bring your girlfriend to the team, huh?”

Lexa flushed a deep red, “Alex brings more to the team than anyone else in the stack. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know she saved the world twice by now. Besides, no one would believe the FBI is doing a serious operation without her. She’s in, Miranda’s orders.” She gave Clark a challenging stare, chin up in defiance. 

Clarke sighed and tossed the file aside, “Well that’s the in pile I guess.”

Breathing a quick sigh of relief, Lexa grabbed the next file and handed it to Clarke who had slouched back in her chair and propped her feet up onto the desk. Lexa took a deep breath and tried to refrain from swatting the other woman’s dirty boots off her pristine desk. “Okay, so the next candidate is Alex’s partner Shelby Wyatt. She owns her own company and can get into some elite events without rousing suspicion.”

Clarke flipped through the file, “It says here she’s dating Caleb Haas? The VP’s son?”

“Since Quantico, actually.”

“Huh.” Clarke tossed the file on the end opposite from Alex’s file. 

“Why not Shelby?”

“Let’s just assume she’s compromised by her boyfriend. If any politician beyond Valdez finds out about this, things can get dirty. Too risky,” It was Clarke’s turn to challenge Lexa. It was always like this, even back in training. If one person had a win, the other person would try to get two wins.

“If you took the time to actually read her file, you’d realize she can keep her personal life and work life separate” Lexa kept her gaze fixed on Clarke’s eyes, not willing to back down. “Besides, she’s Alex’s partner.”

The arguments kept up like this each time a decision had to be made. To Lexa’s dismay, the pile they disagreed on was larger than the pile they did agree on. “Okay, so we have  
Alex, Shelby, Nimah, Lincoln, and Simon.”

“And that’s just from the FBI.” Clarke responded, a smirk forming on her face as she looked at the illuminated screen of her phone. “Director Martin has handpicked some of our operatives to work with us, which it seems Shaw has agreed to.” She dropped her phone on the file-covered desk so Lexa could see for herself. 

“Honestly? As long as we can get this team to work, fine.” 

“What, no fight?”

Lexa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Leaning back in her chair, she stretched her arms high above her head, “We don’t seem to get very far butting heads.”

Clarke was more than a little distracted by the little strip of skin that was revealed when Lexa stretched.

Relaxing, Lexa quietly added, “She’s not my girlfriend, by the way.”

Caught off guard and startled out of her thoughts of Lexa’s smooth skin, Clarke could only make a confused noise.

“We’re roommates, me and Alex. She’s kind of my best friend. When I lost my sister, Anya, she was the only thing that kept me together.”

This admission surprised Clarke, the two of them didn’t know much about one another, but Clarke did know Anya. Anya was an excellent FBI agent, Clarke remembered her  
coming in to help with hostage crisis scenarios during their training at Quantico. It was clear that Anya and Lexa were close, and that Lexa was insanely proud to have her there. “What happened to her?”

Lexa cleared her throat and looked toward the ceiling, her eyes shining, “There was a hostage situation last year. She was sent in to try and deescalate the situation. Things went bad, their intel on the suspect was off and it--” Her voice cracked and she stopped to collect herself. “Anyway, Alex was there for me and since then she has been more than a little protective of me.”

“I’m sorry, Lexa. Anya would be proud of you, I think. I saw how excited she was to see you excel at Quantico.”

Before the conversation could go much farther, there was a sharp knock at the door. “Come in!” Lexa called.

The man who opened the door was tall and lanky, holding himself with a quiet confidence. He held a manila envelope in his hand that appeared to be nearly bursting open. “Simon, what have you got for me?”

Simon handed Lexa the envelope, eyes glancing curiously at Clarke. “Something urgent from Director Shaw. She said you’d know what to do with it. Who’s this?”

Clarke reached a hand out in greeting for a quick shake, “Clarke Griffin, analyst. You must be Simon Ascher? I look forward to getting to work with you.”

“Oh, so am I going to be in on the thing Alex is so antsy about? Cool,” Simon grinned a dopey smile and backed out of the room. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you ladies later.”

Lexa and Clarke laughed a little as he shut the door. 

Clarke reached for the envelope that now sat on Lexa’s desk, “May I?”

With a nod of approval from Lexa, Clarke tore open the envelope and dumped out few sets of FBI credentials. “Excellent! These must be for me and my team.” She opened each badge to see who was in on it, “There’s mine, and one for Raven Reyes- ooh she’s good, and Monty Green and Octavia Blake! With who we have from you guys, and my CIA people we should have a crack team!”

With this uncharacteristic outburst, Lexa couldn’t help but notice that Clarke’s smile was truly something to behold. For the first time in any sort of confrontation they had endured with one another, it seemed almost as if the walls that had separated them in the past were beginning to fall. 

“Alright,” Lexa said, standing up, “let’s assemble and brief the team. It looks like you’re one of us now, Griffin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This AU assumes that Shelby never got together with Caleb's father and Caleb never became an ass.


	3. Suspicious Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team all gets together for the first time and Lexa is confronted with a surprising thought concerning Clarke,

Clarke and Lexa stood together at the front of the conference room, trying not to feel anxious as, slowly, their new team arrived. So far only the original FBI agents were there, all on one side of the long table. Alex and Shelby had their heads together, discussing something quietly, while Simon held his head in his hands as if he was trying to block them out. Lincoln, Lexa’s partner, looked confused as to why he had no clue what the meeting was about. Since he received the email from Lexa asking them all to meet, he had bombarded her with questioning texts, all of which she had ignored.

     

They all looked up when the heavy conference room door opened to reveal three awkward CIA agents looking like fish out of water. “Hi, we’re the agents from the New York office,” said the dark-haired woman, her red leather jacket standing out as the other two agents followed her into the room. “I’m Raven Reyes, and this is Octavia Blake-”, Octavia gave a curt smile, “and our tech expert Monty Green.”

 

The three of them sat down, and Nimah looked at them, squinting slightly, “You’re from the New York office, you say? I don’t recognize any of you.”

 

Lexa jumped in before any of the undercover operatives had to answer, “They’re from the Counterintelligence division, you probably didn’t cross paths with any of them.”

           

Raven, Monty, and Octavia all nodded their heads in agreement. It was Alex and Lincoln’s turn to look skeptically at Lexa. As the two people in the room that knew her best, Lexa was the most worried about them figuring out that something was amiss.

           

Clarke, sensing the tension, jumped in, “Well, now that everyone is here, SA Woods and I need to get started with the briefing.”

           

Lexa looked at Clarke gratefully and gestured for her to continue, stepping back from the screen so she could begin.

           

“With the recent contentious election, tensions are running high. The far-right feels as though they are being neglected under a ‘democratic regime’.” Clarke pointed her remote at the screen, which flashed pictures from recent anti-leftist rallies. “Lately these movements have been gathering support under the leadership of the former Republican nominee, Senator Pike.”

           

The room was quiet, waiting to hear something actionable. “People have a right to protest,” Shelby pointed out.

           

“True,” Clarke intoned, “but they don’t have the right to plot to commit treason.”

           

There was a silent intake of air at Clarke’s words, prompting Lexa to jump in, “And that’s why we’ve been asked by Director Shaw to investigate this group of people and stop whatever threat they’re planning. It seems as if they are going to attack at President Valdez’s talk in Chicago on gun violence in a month.”

           

“We don’t want it to get that far, and we don’t want people to find out what we’re doing. Meaning no one outside of this room, save for Director Shaw, is to hear about this,” Clarke added. Lexa and Clarke were seamlessly bouncing off one another at this point, a flow they had never had back at Quantico.

           

“Unfortunately, our intel gives us a when and the offending group of people, but not a how or a what,” Lexa paused to let that sink in. “We have a lot to do, and four short weeks to do it.”

           

After answering a couple questions from the group, they disbanded with the promise that each of them would read up on the intelligence that had been gathered thus far before they met again tomorrow.

           

Lexa waved good-bye to Clarke who appeared to be meeting up to coach her CIA companions in how not to be suspicious. She jogged to catch up with Alex, Shelby, and Nimah. The four of them had lived together for the past year, ever since the trauma of losing a couple of their friends and coworkers. It helped them all sleep better at night knowing that the others were around.

           

“I need a drink,” Nimah said, shoving open the door ahead of them. “That was heavy stuff.”

           

“Yeah Lexa, I’m surprised you kept this quiet for so long.” Shelby shot Lexa a questioning look over her shoulder.

           

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Lexa shrugged, “This all happened today. It feels like its lasted for weeks.”

           

They had reached the car, and found Lincoln parked next to them, leaning against the side of his car with his arms crossed. “Lexa, ride with me. I wanna talk.”

           

“Only if you agree to come get drinks with us this time,” Lexa smiled.

           

Lincoln was almost always the picture of seriousness. It was hard to get him to open up in groups, but when he and Lexa were alone it was as if they had been friends for eternity. Lexa remembered the first time they met, back at her first assignment in the New York office. Their first day together he hardly said two words to her. The next day he said three. Even if it was slow going, their trust ran deep.

           

Lincoln gave the girls a wry smile and a quick nod of agreement. Lexa did a slight happy dance and hopped in the passenger seat of his government issued car.

           

Waiting for their friend’s car to leave the parking garage, Lincoln then turned to his unsuspecting partner. “Why are we working with the CIA on American soil?”

           

Lexa was shocked, and could only stare at him with her mouth agape. Rather than wait for her to gather herself he continued, “That girl, Octavia Blake? She’s CIA. And the rest of the  _New York office_  people are, too.” The near-sarcastic inflection Lincoln placed on the words “New York office” told Lexa that he wasn’t so much mad, more mildly concerned.

           

“I knew it would be you or Alex to figure it out,” Lexa sighed.

           

“Does this have something to do with your meeting at the Pentagon this morning you were so hype about?”

           

Lexa rested her head back on the pleather headrest. Nodding, she began to explain. She told Lincoln everything, from the shock of seeing Clarke after so long to the air of competitiveness she felt between Directors Shaw and Martin.

           

Lincoln listened carefully and took in everything she said. When she was done speaking, he took a breath and held it. Exhaling, he said, “I think you should tell the team.”

           

Lexa began protesting but Lincoln cut her off. “Hold on- hold on! Listen to me. Those CIA operatives are aware of the risk of this mission being found out. Yet the other half of the team is completely oblivious to the perils that come from this mission. This is serious, and we need trust to trust everyone if want this to work.”

           

“If I tell them, Miranda will have my head,” Lexa responded. “You think I like keeping secrets from you? From Alex? Or Nimah and Shelby? No! We’re a team, but I also know that sometimes discretion is good. Discretion can save lives.”

           

Lincoln chuckled a little bit and shook his head. He started the car and pulled out of the garage. They were halfway to their favorite bar before he spoke again. “Sometimes discretion can ruin friendships. Just don’t lose yourself while you’re trying to be the hero.”

           

“I don’t want to put our friends in the position of having to keep a secret this big,” Lexa replied. The window was rolled down, the early fall air cooling her warm skin. She loved D.C. in the fall, especially when the sun had just set and the streetlights were turning on, this time of the year was where she felt most at home.

           

Lincoln pulled into a parking spot next to a brick building. He turned the car off and put his hand on Lexa’s shoulder, “It’s a large burden to bear alone.”

           

They sat in the car, illuminated by the flashing neon sign on the side of the building. “I’ve got Clarke, and now you,” she finally responded.

           

Lincoln shook his head, “You know, seeing you two interact today was something else.”

           

They got out of the car and headed to meet their friends. “What do you mean?” Lexa asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

           

“She has feelings for you.”


	4. A Shift in Dynamic

The next few weeks were filled with research, planning, and training. Lexa and Clarke were frequently lecturing the group on how a mission is only as successful as the team running it. The lecture itself did less to encourage group bonding than did the annoyance it caused.

 

After another long afternoon of sparring, Shelby was doing cool down stretches, her muscles aching. “Hey,” she called as Alex approached her. “Is it just me or is Lexa trying to kill us.”

 

Alex plopped down on the bench next to her friend and stretched her legs out, groaning. “I’m more annoyed that we always have to do the physical training whenever the rest of the building is briefing superiors.”

 

Shelby paused to consider that statement. “Huh,” she breathed. The silence between them hung heavy in the air, filled with unasked questions.

 

Alex voiced the worry that had been at the back of her mind for a week now, growing and infiltrating her every thought, “Why haven’t we seen the New York agents interact with anyone besides us? Like it’s us against them and honestly I’m not sure what side Lexa is on lately.” She glanced over at Lexa and Clarke in the corner of the training room, doing cool down exercises together.

 

Before Shelby could respond, Simon burst into the room, rage plain on his face. “What the fuck, Lexa,” he shouted, with no explanation. Clarke and Lexa rushed over to look at the tablet he was waving around.

 

While the two women were looking at what Simon was so upset about, in came running Monty, “I tried to stop him,” he huffed, hunching down with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “He’s fast.”

 

“What’s going on you guys?”  Shelby called, arms crossed over her chest. Alex stood beside her in solidarity, glaring at Lexa.

 

Lexa felt a stab of pain in her chest; the way Alex was looking at her was almost more than she could handle.

 

“I’ll tell you what’s going on, these no-good _liars_ —” Simon started.

 

Clarke reached a hand out and slammed Simon against the wall, knocking the breath out of his lungs. She leaned in close to his face, keeping him pinned, and whispered quietly, “You are going to want to shut the _hell_ up before you make this worse. Do you understand?”

 

Simon gasped and nodded. Clarke released him and turned to face the shocked onlookers. “Conference room, now,” she said.

 

“I’ll call the others,” Alex said. She walked out the door without a second glance behind her. Simon and Shelby followed her out quickly.

 

“Should I call in Raven and Octavia, too?” Monty asked. He eyes were bouncing from Clarke to Lexa, clearly concerned he had made a mistake.

 

Clarke reached her hand out and rested it on his shoulder, “It wasn’t your fault, Monty. They were going to find out eventually. Call them in.”

 

Monty nodded solemnly and left the training room. Clarke turned back to Lexa and sighed. She was surprised to see Lexa’s eyes shining with unshed tears. “Hey,” she whispered, pulling her into a hug. “It’s going to be okay.”

 

Surprised by this unusual display of physical closeness, Lexa closed her eyes and let a few silent tears slip down her face. “They’re never going to trust me again. Lincoln was right, we should have told them the truth sooner.”

 

Clarke rubbed small circles on Lexa’s back. Lexa sniffled and pulled back, laughing when she saw the tear stains on Clarke’s shirt. “You cried on me!” Clarke laughed.

 

They were still giggling a little when Director Shaw stormed into the training room. Clarke and Lexa jumped and turned, only to be faced with a disapproving glare. “I’m glad you ladies find national crisis funny. Please, let’s go brief the team on this hilarity.”

 

Clarke and Lexa followed Miranda to the conference room. The mood was somber; no one even looked up when the three women entered. Clarke and Lexa sat down in the row of chairs at the front of the room while Miranda remained standing, looking over the team assembled before her.

 

Calmly, she began to speak. “How many of you began to suspect something wasn’t quite right with this team?”

 

Alex, Shelby, Nimah, and Lincoln all raised their hands, as if they were school children admitting to some sort of misbehavior. Miranda, as the director of the FBI, had that effect on her agents. “Right,” she said. “I am going to turn specifics over to Lexa and Clarke in a moment. I have to be at a press conference about this mess in 20 minutes. I just want to leave you all with this: it is your duty to keep this country safe, and these decisions were made, not because they were the best, but because it was necessary. If you don’t feel you can do this job after Lexa and Clarke explain everything, leave your badge and gun in my office.” With a curt not to Lexa, she left.

 

The room remained silent, no one was quite ready for the hell about to break loose. Clarke reached over and squeezed Lexa’s hand in support.

 

With a quick breath in, she stood up, not quite ready for the storm that was brewing.

 

Lexa explained the trip to the Pentagon and their meeting with President Valdez. She explained how Lincoln had figured it out and warned her about the consequences of a divided team. Upon hearing of the potential legal complications that accompany an undercover CIA operation on American soil, everyone gasped.

 

“Which brings us to today. Simon was looking for chatter and he found a leak going out to all major news networks. The headline reads ‘CIA Agents working with FBI on U.S. Soil’,” she paused to let them take that in.

 

Alex slammed her hands down on the table and stood up. “How could you knowingly get us into this?”

 

Lexa remained serious. The thing about Lexa that Clarke had always admired since the day they had met was the fact that she was so incredibly soft on the inside, but when someone needed a leader, she was there. She had an innate ability to put her emotions aside for the greater good. It was this aspect of her character she called upon now when all of her closest friends were furious with her.

 

“I did what I was told, Alex. Like any of us would. For the good of the operation, for the good of the country,” Lexa countered, looking at her friend with a steely gaze.

 

Alex, whose obligations never ceased to be her sole priority, shut her moth and glared sourly at the wall. It was Simon’s turn to take a stand and challenge the logic of the choices made by the Bureau. “The article mentioned a trial! I’m not going down for whatever crackpot conspiracy theory you guys have goin’ down.”

 

Clarke stood up next to Lexa in solidarity, “The only people who would be punished if things go to trial are Directors Shaw and Martin, Lexa, and myself. I mean, President Martinez will also be condemned for this. But we all knew the risk when we signed up.”

 

“Yeah, right,” Simon scoffed. “You expect me to believe there isn’t going to be any fallout from this? Just being associated with the CIA agents on this team is enough to give each of us desk jobs for our entire careers.”

 

Alex and Lincoln both nodded their heads solemnly at Simon’s words. Lexa could feel the team dynamic starting to crumble.

 

“What are we going to do, give up our badges? You heard Miranda, we are through here if we decide not to go along with this,” Nimah added.

 

Octavia, becoming annoyed with the whining happening in front of her, rolled her eyes. “You sit here acting all high and mighty, but Clarke and Lexa are trying to save lives, people. Get some perspective.”

 

“Funny coming from someone who knew what the operation was truly asking of everyone,” Alex countered.

 

“Would any of you have said no if given the opportunity?” Raven asked, eyebrow arched.

 

The FBI agents all sat back and considered the question. “I would have jumped in, head first,” Alex replied to Raven, looking at Lexa the entire time. “But I don’t want to be a part of a team that keeps secrets like this.”

 

Shelby, Nimah, Lincoln, and Simon voiced their agreement with Alex. Lexa looked at each of their faces in turn. “I’m sorry. Truly. But we need you, all of you. You’ve seen the evidence mounting that something bad is headed our way, and if we don’t stand up innocent people will pay the price. This is not something we can sit idly by and watch happen, waiting to clean up the aftermath. I don’t want to be a part of a team that could accept that.” Lexa paused, trying to gauge her friends’ reactions, to no avail. They remained silent, unflinching. “From this point on, I promise total transparency, and if you stay I promise you we will succeed. If you choose to leave, there’s the door.”

 

Simon scoffed at Lexa’s monologue, stood up and left. Lexa gave a curt nod and looked at the remaining three. “Anyone else?” Everyone remained seated.

 

**

 

Later that night, after the grueling press conference, Lexa sat alone on her bed. The apartment was empty, as the other three women went for a drink without her. Even though most of them had stayed, Lexa began to think she lost something more important than a trusting team dynamic; she felt she had lost her friends. A soft knock at the front door pulled her from her depressing introspection.

 

Expecting Lincoln accompanied by a six pack of beers and a grin, she pulled the door open unceremoniously, and without a second thought sighed loudly. Clarke, standing in the doorway looked confused, “Is—is this a bad time?” she asked.

 

“Oh my god, Clarke, no! It’s not a bad time, come in.” She stepped aside to let the other woman enter. “I was expecting it to be someone else. Do you want something to drink? I’ve got beer, wine, water...?” She trailed off, watching Clarke take in the living room.

 

“Got anything a little harder?” She asked, shooting Lexa a mischievous smile over her shoulder.

 

Lexa laughed and led her into the kitchen. She put two shot glasses on the counter and poured tequila in each. The cheered and each knocked their shot back, no chaser. Lexa poured another.

 

After their third shot, Lexa tilter her head and looked at Clarke sitting across the counter from her. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

 

Clarke smiled, her blue eyes crinkling slightly at the corners, “I thought you could use a friend. And I needed a drink, so why not fix both problems at once.

 

Clarke grabbed the bottle of tequila and her shot glass and walked over to the couch in the living room. Lexa joined her and they took another shot.

 

Lexa was beginning to feel the alcohol warming her bones. She knew her face was becoming red but she didn’t care. Clarke was reminiscing about some time back at Quantico and Lexa wasn’t paying attention anymore, all she could she was the woman sitting a foot away from her. Clarke stopped talking and smiled at her, “Are you even listening to me?”

 

“I’m just thinking about how I could always drink you under the table back then.”

 

Clarke laughed, “That is _not_ how I remember it, Woods.”

 

“Is that a challenge?” Lexa asked, wiggling her eyebrows. They took a few more shots and continued talking and laughing.

 

The room was spinning, everything coming in flashes.

 

Lexa remembered what Lincoln said about her and Clarke.

 

She leaned in.

 

Fire, as their lips connected, bliss.

 

Sudden cold as Clarke pulled away.

 

“Lexa…” she whispered, “I’m so sorry. I have a boyfriend.”

 

The door closed.

 

Lexa fell asleep.


	5. A Rendezvous Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, if anyone still cares for this fic. I graduated from university last week, so I hope to have more time to write for fun! Please leave comments if you have suggestions!

Clarke awoke the next morning with a roaring headache and a body throbbing with regret. Coffee, she thought, I need coffee. Robe on, slippers found, she headed to the kitchen and stared at the empty bag of coffee beans sitting next to the coffee pot. Once again, her significant annoyance forgot to put coffee on his grocery list. 

Since Finn had quit his job to pursue his desire to write mystery novels, fights had broken out left and right about the distribution of housework. Clarke always felt like it was too much to have work, especially given how often she was out of town, and be in charge of all things house-work related. Eventually Finn had conceded enough to agree to do the grocery shopping. Turns out that typically meant only things he wanted or needed.

With a sigh, she began to shuffle back to the bedroom to get ready, but as she passed the closed door in the hallway she hesitated. For the first time in weeks she opened the door to her studio and looked at all of the unfinished paintings and sketches strewn about. It had been a while since she felt the pull of artistic inspiration. Life just kept getting in the way.

After getting dressed and making the decision to pick up coffee for the team on the way in, she headed out to the living room to find Finn crashed on the couch with the news blaring from the TV. As she grabbed the remote to turn off the TV, the scrolling headline at the bottom of the screen caught her eye: TREASON SUSPECTED OF THE CIA AND FBI, AGENCY CONSPIRACY HEADED BY VALDEZ.

The news-anchor only added to Clarke’s horror as she spoke, “President Valdez has immediately been removed from office pending his trial. The director of the CIA has renounced the agents involved and plans to step in as our interim president. We go to his speech now.” The TV cuts over to none other than CIA Director Jeff Martin.

“The conspiracy goes deep, deeper than previously thought. FBI Director Miranda Shaw has been detained, and the entire Valdez administration is under investigation. I humbly accept this appointment and I know I will guide the American people in the right direction during this trying time.”

Clarke shut off the TV, her heart in her throat. This processing time took half a second, and then she was moving. Her go-bag was in the hall closet, complete with unmarked bills, three aliases and a few burner phones. She hesitated when grabbing her keys, taking a quick glance at Finn who slept on the couch, clueless. Without a second thought, she took her spare key for Finn’s car and left the rest on the hook. She had no intention of returning.

*****

Sleeping in was not in Lexa’s agenda, especially after the previous night. To beat the memories and embarrassment, she needed to keep moving. After a brisk 5-mile run, Lexa finally allowed herself to slow down. Her heart-rate had just settled when she rounded the corner to her apartment. 

The entire building was surrounded by emergency vehicles. She took her headphones out, as if that would improve her concentration. Heavily shielded members of DC’s finest were helping people out of the building. An officer on the outskirts spotted Lexa down the road, and immediately pointed and began shouting.

And Lexa was off.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she ducked down an alleyway, trying to take the least obvious path. She had no specific destination in mind, Lexa just knew she needed to get away. Miranda had warned her that if things went south, this was a distinct possibility. She had been prepared to flee, and once the FBI got into her apartment they would use her go-bag as evidence to bury her. Lexa and her team would soon become scapegoats for the exact conspiracy they had been trying to prevent.

In the ensuing flight process, Lexa completely forgot her phone was strapped to her arm until it started buzzing. She had Monty encrypt her phone when he had joined Clarke and Lexa’s team, so she wasn’t so worried about being tracked yet. 

Within seconds of ceasing, the buzzing began for a second time.

And then a third.

On the fourth round of buzzing, Lexa tucked herself in a corner between two buildings not visible from the streets. She squinted at the screen, which showed a blocked caller ID. She accepted the call and slowly brought the phone up to her ear.

“Lexa? Please, answer me,” a familiar voice rang out.

“Alex!’ Lexa shouted, before remembering she needed to be discreet. 

“Where are you? They arrested Shelby. Nimah and I barely got out of the building before they came looking for us. We got a hold of Raven, and she and Monty are fine but they got Octavia.”

“Fuck,” Lexa breathed. “Any word on Clarke?”

“No news is good news, right?” Alex responded, “But where are you? We need to rendezvous.”

With a gasp, Lexa immediately threw her phone to the ground and promptly smashed it. Despite protest from her legs, she began to run again.

The very first time Lexa and Alex had gone undercover together they had to come up with a code word that they could use to warn the other that they were compromised. Since they were undercover with an organized crime group it had to be something inconspicuous. They settled on rendezvous, since it would be easy to fit into a conversation, and they both agreed it was too cheesy for them to use in a regular conversation.

Great, Lexa thought, now what am I going to do? 

While her mind was occupied thinking of a place to go, her legs were busy getting it done. She found herself near the park that she and Clarke had begun to frequent together for lunches. As she was about to run across the street to hide amongst a group of power walkers in the park, she was immediately cutoff by a hideous, blue jeep. The passenger door swung out at her, and Clarke yelled for her to get in.

They drove in silence for a little while, before Lexa finally asked the question eating at her brain. “How did you know where to find me?”

“I hoped that if you hadn’t been caught, you’d come here. It’s not something the bureau knows of, and a good meet-up point.”

Lexa nodded and the silence resumed. 

 

***

 

Once they crossed state lines into Virginia, Lexa and Clarke began to talk.

“Raven, Monty and Lincoln. Alex said they were the only ones who escaped, or have so far, anyway.” Lexa leaned back in her car seat and ran her hands through her hair. “We need to find them. Where are we going?”

“There’s a safe-house in Roanoke.” Clarke said. “We’ll take back roads, and thankfully this one was never sanctioned by Martin.”

“Okay, well obviously you have more information than me, spill.”

Clarke told Lexa all about Martin selling them out, her theory that he planted the conspiracy chatter, all to eventually turn on them and gain the trust of the country.

“Clarke, if this is true…”

“I know. We’re screwed.”


	6. Going Down Hill

For the first time in her life, Lexa was thankful to have someone on her side just as paranoid as her. Using Clarke’s encrypted burner phone, they were able to contact Lincoln, Raven, and Monty. Lexa allowed her muscles to relax briefly, knowing that their semi-complete team was about to be reunited.

  
Clarke seemed more relaxed, too, as she hummed along to a predictable-sounding, radio chart-topper. Unable to stop the thought from leaving her mouth, Lexa blurted, “This would be nice under different circumstances.”

  
“Open road, windows rolled down, no one expecting us home? I could get used to that,” Clarke replied, a wistful smile turning up the corners of her mouth. “This is his car, ya know. My boyfriend’s.”

  
Lexa made a soft noise in response, not willing to engage in that particular topic of conversation.

  
Clarke paused for a moment, glancing briefly at Lexa to her left before returning her focus to the winding backroad they traveled down. “I mean, I guess I should say ex now.”

  
This addition to Clarke’s first statement had the desired effect. Lexa turned to the woman sitting next to her, brows furrowed in concern. “We’re going to get outta this Clarke, it’s just a matter of when.”

  
“And leaving him was just a matter of when, too. We got together when I was trying to please my parents. Turns out he ain’t no prince charming.” Lexa chuckled quietly along with her.

  
“Clarke, about the other night—“

  
Bright lights and a sickening crunch interrupted Lexa before she could complete her thought. Their world began twisting and turning, as the car tumbled down the steep hill just beyond the curve.

  
After what felt like an eternity, they reached the bottom of the incline. Clarke’s head was spinning as she fumbled with her seatbelt. The car had landed upside-down and as she undid the clasp, she landed with her head tucked to her chest, knees almost hitting her face, and feeling like a turtle.

“Lexa,” Clarke gasped as she managed to right herself. No response. Clarke kicked out the driver’s side window and climbed out. “Lexa, we’re almost there! I recognize these woods. Lexa?” Clarke called again, still not getting a response.

  
Stumbling, Clarke made her way to the other side of the car. Through the cracked window she could make out Lexa, unconscious, dangling by her seatbelt.  
“Oh, please don’t be dead, please please please don’t be dead,” she muttered to herself as she managed to yank the door open. Reaching into the car she felt for a pulse, breath stopping when she had trouble finding it.

  
She reached for the knife tucked into her jeans and cut Lexa out of her seatbelt and lowered her carefully onto the windshield and then maneuvered her out of the car. With the better positioning Clarke gave an elated sob as she found Lexa’s pulse.

  
“Wake up, Lex, come on. You can’t give up on this now,” Clarke whispered through her tears.

  
Clarke crouched low to the ground as the unmistakable sound of a bullet pinging off the underside of the car interrupted her care of Lexa. Her adrenaline resurged, and Clarke dove through the passenger side door to grab her duffel. She reached blindly until she felt the familiar touch of her handgun.

  
A quick inspection of her clip told her she had four bullets. She briefly stuck her head up to get a better view of the shooter, and immediately ducked back down as a bullet whizzed past her ear.

  
Still in a low crouch, Clarke rushed to a nearby tree to get a better vantage point and draw the fire away from Lexa. Quickly, she returned fire with two quick shots in the direction of their attacker. She heard them scramble through the leaves and aimed a third shot in the direction of the sound.

  
“Alright, assholes. One last shot,” she muttered to herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to regain her composure, jumping when two shots sounded from ten feet away from her, and she heard a thud just up the hill.

  
“Thought you could use a hand,” Lincoln said, as Clarke breathed a sigh of relief. “Was she the only shooter?” Lincoln asked, bent over Lexa and dabbing the blood off the gash in her forehead.

  
Clarke remained behind the tree, unwilling to risk stepping out into the open. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure how they found us.”

  
Lincoln’s question was quickly answered when they heard the slam of a car door and tires squealing away.

  
“However they found you, we need to leave, now.” Lincoln gingerly picked Lexa up and put her over his shoulder in a fireman carry. Clarke nodded her agreement, and went to grab her duffel from the car.

  
They made their way through the woods in silence, stopping once for Lincoln to switch carrying shoulders. After about ten minutes, they came upon the safe house. Raven and Monty ran out of the house, both talking at once.

  
“It was them!” Raven shouted, hugging Clarke in a tight embrace.

  
“We need to leave,” Monty interrupted. “The cameras detected three cars headed our way about four miles up the road.”

  
“Car’s packed,” Raven said in agreement.

  
Without further discussion, they were off again.

* * *

 

Lexa woke with a pounding headache and moderate motion sickness. The sound of Lincoln catching Clarke up on how he found them a not-so-gentle reminder of their current predicament. Lexa was stretched across the third-row seating of an inconspicuous minivan. She groaned as she forced herself into a sitting position, shoulder protesting as she put weight on it.

  
“You dislocated your shoulder,” Monty informed her as she tested her movement. “I would be more concerned with the concussion though.”

  
“Is that why it feels like I’m experiencing life through a plastic bubble?”

  
Raven laughed, “Not how I would describe a concussion, but sure. You’re lucky kid.”

  
Clarke peered back at Lexa from her place at the front of the van, “You gave us all a scare.”

  
Lexa looked down and gave a soft smile, “Well, you know me. I won’t stop until I win.”

  
After a few more hours driving south they found a small motel in northern Georgia. Monty helped guide Lexa out of the car and they all piled into the room Lincoln had just paid cash for. Raven volunteered to get ice from the machine across the complex and quietly slipped out of the room. Lexa propped herself up on one of the twin beds and closed her eyes. She felt uneasy, and she tried to focus on the sounds of the news coming through the wall from the room next door.

  
Lincoln stood anxiously by the window, peering out the space between the wall and the curtain every few minutes. “Raven’s been gone too long, I’m going to find her.”

  
Lexa’s eyes flew open, “Lincoln, don’t open the door!”

  
But it was too late. Lincoln flew back as several armed men in black gear busted through the door.

  
“Everyone down on the ground!” They shouted at odd intervals. One of them hit Clarke in the head as she rose to defend herself.

  
The men handcuffed them, threw bags on their heads and unceremoniously dumped them in the back of a truck.

  
Monty summed up all of their thoughts nicely, with a soft whisper: “Fuck.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you have any suggestions! I appreciate any and all feedback.


End file.
